Los Aztecas provides authentic atmosphere, mediocre food

Customers enjoy their food and drinks at Los Azteca’s, located at 4445 E. Blue Grass Road.

Los Aztecas, 4445 E. Blue Grass Road, is just one of Mount Pleasant’s many Mexican restaurants that is said to have authenticity you can only find once you’ve crossed the border. It offers the option to both dine-in and enjoy the fiesta or take it with you through carry-out.

So, in hearing the claims that I’d be getting the real deal, I was anxious to “cross the border” while remaining in Mount Pleasant.

As I got out of my car and headed to the door, there was a big lit neon sign with the restaurant’s name, which made me think of something that would be hanging over a liquor store.

When I walked in, though, the atmosphere really kicked in, though the music playing sounded more like music that I would hear at a circus. Once I got past that, I was completely overcome with the decor; the green, yellow and red on the walls, chairs and ceiling.

I was even more overcome with hunger once the aroma from the back kitchen hit me. It smelled of beef, cheese and all things fried and deep fried, just how I like!

As soon I got to the hostess, I was seated, and given a menu. Not two minutes later, I was brought a basket of warm tortilla chips and salsa. I could tell that the tortillas were fresh.

It was hard for me to read the menu because the descriptions of the food were so close to the name of the dish, and the item names weren’t in bold but just capitalized, so it all kind of just ran together. Once I conquered the menu, though, I decided on a beef chimichanga.

I love chimichangas, so I decided to put Los Aztecas to the test. Their take on the dish is described as a “flour tortilla stuffed with your choice of beef chunks or marinated chicken; it is then deep fried to a golden brown and topped with cheese sauce. It is served with lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, and rice and beans.”

My plate was delivered to me no more than 10 minutes after I ordered, if that.

The cheese sauce that was drizzled over my chimichanga was white. I expected the standard cheddar cheese, but I looked past that.The next thing I noticed was that the cheese looked like plastic. It had a very waxy look to it.

I wasn’t too anxious to see what it tasted like, but my beans and rice looked somewhat appetizing so I had that to fall back on.

As I bit into my chimichanga, I realized that the cheese sauce wasn’t too bad. I was not too fond of the shredded beef though; It was tough and hard to swallow.

I moved on to the rice and beans, which were standard. They were at least appetizing; the better part of my meal. The beans were whipped very thinly, there were hardly any chunks of bean in them, and the rice was seasoned well.

After I had received my food and began to eat I wasn’t checked on very often. The service slowed, and almost came to a screeching halt after that.

I ended up not finishing my food because I wasn’t too fond of it. I wouldn’t voluntarily go to Los Azteca’s again, and was more wowed by the scenery than I was with my food.

I would give Los Aztecas a 3 out of 5, for quick service and a good atmosphere.